


Precious

by SailorChibi



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Coming back to life, Endgame Fix-It, Fix-It, Fuck You Marvel, Gen, Loki & Tony Stark Friendship, Possessive Loki (Marvel), Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Canon Fix-It, Tony Stark Lives, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, five years post-endgame, hela is the queen of death, hela rules over hel, lmao no one kills tony on my watch, loki and hela fight over tony, long-suffering tony stark, or just not die cause that works too, possessive hela (marvel), protect tony stark, really not many endgame spoilers, she likes tony's soul a lot, sibling relationships, spoilers within, squabbling gods, that's it that's the story, tony stark needs some sanity, too bad for hela that loki happens to like tony's soul too, wow i never thought we'd need that tag, yeah expect tony to come back to life in all my endgame fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-04 10:23:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18602596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorChibi/pseuds/SailorChibi
Summary: After his death, Tony finds himself in Hel.It takes Loki five years to track him down.





	Precious

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't seen Endgame yet, don't know if I'm going to, but I've thoroughly spoiled myself at this point. Expect this to be the first fix-it of many!

Death, Tony discovers quickly, is not as terrible as the bible likes to claim that it will be. He’s not a pious man, or even a good man, yet there is no pain or suffering.

At least, not until Loki shows up.

"Young Lord, I must ask that you hasten to the throne room."

Tony looks up in surprise from where he's tinkering with a bit of grey matter. The formless black shadow doesn't look any different than usual, yet he's pretty sure he can _hear_ worry in its voice. And that in itself is alarming. Within Hel's realm, as one of Her Favored, Tony doesn't need to worry about anything. He narrows his eyes at the shadow without moving; it's been so long since he had to hasten _anywhere_ that he's not really sure he wants to find out what this is all about.

"Why?" he asks after a considerable pause. 

"I cannot say," the shadow says. "But lease, come."

"... Fine," Tony says with a reluctant sigh, rising to his feet. It never ceases to amaze him, how _easy_ that is now. Moving doesn't hurt anymore. He doesn't get terrible pains in his lower back, or have his left arm go numb to the point where he can't make a fist, or get headaches from all the times his head has been slammed around in the armor. It's actually kind of nice.

He makes his way to the throne room, the shadow flitting around ahead of him. The way is lit with torches that burn with blue fire; it's a color not unlike the arc reactor, and Tony has always found that more comforting than he wants to admit. His feet are quiet against the stone floor. It’s unexpectedly peaceful, even if it took him forever to stop feeling tense without any technology.

As he gets closer to the throne room, he starts to make out the sound of Hela's voice. He knows it's her only because it's the one voice in Hel he can't find the words to describe: one minute her voice is a song like a hummingbird's, and the next it's the scream of an anguished parent, and then rough like a jet engine. It's ever-changing and he draws nearer, listening intently.

"I am not give to give one of mine up so easily, not even for you. Your journey here was a waste."

"And _I_ am not going to give up."

Tony's already shuffled into the room, but that doesn't stop him from freezing in shock and blurting out, "Reindeer Games?!"

Loki's face twists with irritation at the nickname and Hela chuckles.

"Still want him?" she inquires to Loki, smirking.

"Unfortunately," Loki says, rolling his eyes.

"Uh, what?" Tony says. He's so thrown off by seeing Loki here, in Hel, that he doesn't know what to think or say. 

In the time that Tony's been here - roughly five years of Earth time, he thinks - he hasn't encountered anyone that he knows personally. The one time he dared to ask, Hela simply smiled and told him that most humans didn't come to Hel. Only those that she personally marked, like Tony, came to her domain when they died. She didn't explain where the others went, and Tony hadn't been brave enough to follow up on that line of questioning. Or rather, Hela had distracted him with a gift. She'd given him the ability to see the ones he'd left behind.

Naturally, the very first people he'd looked for were his wife and daughter. And even though logically he'd known that it had been almost five years at that point, so naturally things would have changed, it hurt a lot to see his family. Morgan was ten years old and learning to play the flute, whereas Pepper had moved on and remarried Happy. That didn't upset Tony - he was, and still is, happy to know that Pepper had found someone else, because he didn't want her or Morgan to be alone - but... he can't deny that it still stings to know that he's no longer a part of their lives. 

Needless to say, he stepped away from the viewing pool for a little while until he felt better prepared to look in on everyone else. But now that Tony thinks about it, he realizes that he didn't see Loki. Not on Earth, not in space, not when he looked for Valkyrie and Bruce and the Asgardians, not even when he was peeking in on Thor and the Guardians. He doesn't know why that realization didn't occur to him before.

And now here is Loki, standing before him in a rich, forest green suit. A black cape is draped over his shoulders, trailing to the ground. He looks every inch the proud sorcerer, long hair tied back at the nape of his neck with a cord and green eyes glittering in the light of the torches. It feels like the first time Tony's seen green in years, and he finds himself unconsciously edging towards Loki. Because by contrast, Hela and her domain are all dark and dreary. It's something he's gotten used to, but he's surprised by how _good_ it is to see someone he knows.

Even if it is Loki.

"See?" Loki says, looking smug.

"That means nothing. You're a novelty," says Hela, crossing her arms. "My little merchant, you wouldn't leave me, would you?"

"What?" Tony says again, looking back and forth between them.

"I am here to take my mortal back," Loki says causally.

"I keep telling you, he's not yours!" Hela snaps. "He's in my realm, and has been here long enough."

"Only because you took him and _hid_ him!"

"It's not my fault if you weren't paying attention!"

"Uh, excuse me, I don't belong to anyone?" Tony tries. 

"Of course you do," says Loki. "You're mine."

"Right... and when do you think this claim happened?" Tony asks, not sure if he really wants an answer, but curious regardless.

Loki smirks at Hela. "I touched you first, when I threw you out the window of your tower."

"Riiiiiight," Tony drawls, dragging the word out, as Hela pops up like an offended cat.

"That means nothing! You may have touched him physically, but _I_ touched his soul long before that. He's been my merchant from his birth!"

"This sounds so wrong," Tony mutters to himself. All this talk of touching makes him feel like he's caught in a bad after school special. He crosses his arms over his chest and watches, mildly fascinated, as the two gods start to literally squabble with each other.

"He's mine!"

"No, he's not!"

"You took him from me!"

"I did not! You didn't care enough to be there!"

"I was trying to survive!"

"Excuses, excuses."

"It's not an excuse, you -"

"Oh my god," Tony says quickly, before Loki can insult Hela and get himself turned into a smear on the stone. He's not actually certain who would win a fight between them, but he really doesn't want to find out. Hela is ridiculously strong - Tony's seen challengers come to face her for ownership of Hel, but no one ever leaves - but Loki is sneaky and sly and knows how to drive someone far saner than Hela to the brink.

They both turn to him immediately and ask, "What?"

Tony holds his hands up. "I didn't mean that literally, I just - ugh." He groans. "Never mind, continue."

And they do, literally hissing at each other in a language that Tony's not familiar with. At least, he _thinks_ it's a language. Thor once demonstrated just how many languages he could speak, and it nearly broke Tony's brain at the time trying to catalogue the sheer quantity. Still, it's totally possible that they're just hissing at each other like a couple of offended snakes. He wouldn't put it past Hela or Loki, honestly. Siblings. They really do bring out the worst in each other. He wishes Pepper all the luck in the world if she and Happy ever decide to give Morgan a little brother or sister.

He sits down on a chunk of stone to watch them, but he's not there long. Loki suddenly spins away, his cape dramatically flaring out behind him, and strides towards Tony. Before Tony can react, Loki grabs him around the waist and throws Tony over a bony shoulder. Tony yelps. Hela shrieks. The torches in the room go out, leaving them all in complete darkness for one paralyzing moment.

Then Loki breaks the quiet with a smoothly spoken, "I have a proposition for you. If you allow me to take my mortal without a fight, I won't speak to you for the next five centuries."

There's another pause, significantly longer this time.

"You have got to be joking," Tony says into the darkness.

"Shh, little merchant. I'm thinking." The torches go back on to reveal Hela now standing to Loki's right, one long nail tapping her chin thoughtfully. 

"Seriously?!" Tony complains, throwing his arms out. "I thought I was your favorite?"

"You're _a_ favorite," she corrects. "It's true, but that is a tantalizing offer indeed."

"So do we have a deal?" Loki inquires.

Hela hums, tilting her head to the side, eyes shadowed. 

Loki shifts impatiently.

Tony shifts too, but only because there's a bony shoulder jabbing him in the gut.

"Very well," Hela says at last. "You may take him. But if he dies again, he will be mine forever. You won't get a second chance; you're not to try coming back to take him again."

"Deal. If he dies, _I_ won't come back," Loki says. Tony can't see his face, but he can tell Loki is smirking.

"Does no one care what I want?" he asks regardless.

"No," Hela and Loki say together, and Tony rolls his eyes. Of course not.

"So what happens if I do die again, then?" he asks.

Hela opens her mouth, but Loki cuts her off with a laugh.

"Simple. I'll send Thor down for you," Loki says, mirth in his voice.

A look of sheer horror passes over Hela's face. "Stark, you are no longer welcome in my realm. I still have claim to your soul, so that means you're not to die."

"What?" Tony exclaims.

"Excellent, thank you!" Loki says over him. "Let's take our leave, my mortal."

"Loki, _you little_ -!"

Loki's cackle cuts off the rest of Hela's statement, and it's just as well because Tony's pretty sure she was winding up to lay one hell of a curse on Loki's shoulders. A tingly feeling runs through Tony. He shuts his eyes and finds himself grabbing at Loki's arm as the world twists around him and it starts to feel like they're moving very rapidly. There's a popping sound and he suddenly feels unbearably heavy. A wave of nausea rolls through him and he chokes, one hand flying to his mouth.

"Do _not_ be sick on me," Loki says over his shoulder.

"I feel awful," Tony chokes out.

"Well, that's what happens when you're dead for five years," Loki says, as though Tony chose to die. Which, well, he sort of did, but it wasn't because he wanted to. He really didn't want to, back then. He wanted to live for his wife and daughter. But he wanted them to live even more.

The feeling of movement stops. Tony stays very still, eyes squeezed shut, until the urge to throw up on Loki's cape dies down. Only then does he slowly open his eyes to see that they're standing in what appears to be a forest. High above them, the moon hangs in the sky. They're on Earth, he realizes. He's not just looking at the planet from afar. He's actually _here_. He slides off Loki's shoulder onto his feet, but his legs are weak and he would fall over if it weren't for Loki gripping his arm with unexpected strength. 

"Steady, Stark," Loki says, not unkindly.

"Why?" Tony says, turning to look Loki in the face. "Why would you - _why_?!"

"Because," says Loki, and for a moment Tony thinks that's all he's going to say. But then Loki seems to relent, and he adds, "There are precious few things in the universe that are mine. I refuse to give one up to my sister."

Tony blinks. "Did you - did you just call me 'precious'?"

Loki removes his cape and drapes it over Tony's shoulders. "Do keep up. I'm not carrying you this time." He spins on his heel and starts walking into the trees.

"What the hell just happened?" Tony whispers to himself. His head is spinning, and the temptation to just sit there for a while until he comes to terms with everything is very strong. It's not every day you come back to life, after all. And if he really is alive again, he can make it just fine on his own. Pepper, Happy, Rhodey - any of them would be thrilled to see him again, Tony's sure.

But some unknown force inside him compels him to get up and scramble after Loki. He catches up to the god easily, which means that Loki is purposefully moving slowly, and Tony's not really sure what to think of that. He's positive there's more to this than what Loki is saying, but finds that he doesn't really care. Even if there is a reason, it's worth it. It's all worth it.

"Hey Honey," he says. "Thanks."

Loki stops. "Honey?"

Tony grins. "You called me 'precious'. I thought that meant we were at that stage." And he bats his eyes at Loki, then snickers when Loki gives a disgusted huff and storms off. It means Tony has to run to catch up with him, but it's totally worth it.

Annoying gods is an art Tony has gotten _very_ good at, and he can't wait to show Loki his whole range of skills.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on [tumblr](https://tsuki-chibi.tumblr.com/).


End file.
